In this article, we’ll go over all the best resources to use for GRE Verbal practice. We’ll cover official material, paid practice tests, and the best way to use the different types of GRE Verbal practice material in your studying.
Feature image credit: Statue of Phillis Wheatley/used under CC BY 2.0/cropped from original.
Overview of GRE Verbal Practice Questions
When it comes to GRE Verbal practice tests and questions, you’ll be faced with the choice between official or unofficial materials. Your best bet for high-quality GRE Verbal tests and questions is to go with official ETS PDFs, web resources, and books.
GRE Verbal practice materials released by ETS are high-quality not because the questions are inherently more difficult or inherently better written, but because they are created by the same company that creates the GRE content. Therefore, the way in which questions are asked and what skills are tested will be the most in line with what you’ll see on the GRE.
The other main distinction in the GRE Verbal practice landscape is the divide between free and paid materials. Free is great when it comes to official ETS questions because the material is pretty much what you’d see on the GRE but at no cost. In fact, ETS’s free PowerPrep tests are the best computer-based GRE practice available anywhere.
When it comes to unofficial GRE Verbal materials, however, using paid books and tests is the way to go. Many companies put in more effort into making questions realistic and high quality when they charge a price for their materials; this is especially true for GRE Verbal, which can be tricky to create accurate questions for.
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What Are the Best GRE Verbal Practice Questions?
The best GRE Verbal practice materials are realistic, high-quality questions that match the real GRE in style and content. Ideally, the materials you use for GRE Verbal practice will have questions organized by difficulty level as well as specific skill so that you can get the most out of your studying.
Working on appropriately challenging questions is vital for effective GRE Verbal practice. Too-easy questions won’t teach you anything, while too-challenging questions will be discouraging. The same thing goes for the content – focus your GRE Verbal practice on areas you’re unfamiliar with or struggle with, rather than areas you have already mastered.
Good GRE practice questions should be…
- realistic and of high quality; they will match real GRE questions in both style and content
- organized by difficulty level
- organized by skill being tested
- able to be taken as part of full-length tests as well as drilled separately
Not every resource will meet all of these criteria, and they don’t need to. What counts as good GRE verbal practice material depends partially on what kind of practice you’re doing.
First, you’ll need to get used to taking full-length GREs so that you can build up your stamina and get used to the alternation between Quantitative and Verbal Reasoning sections. To do this, you’ll need to use full-length, preferably official, GRE practice tests.
The other important method for GRE Verbal practice uses questions to focus in on specific weaknesses. For this kind of studying, you’ll want to use sets of GRE Verbal practice questions sorted by content type and difficulty level.
Free and Official GRE Verbal Practice Tests
ETS has released a fair amount of free material you can use for GRE Verbal practice. Some of it, like the PowerPrep tests, should be reserved for when you can take full-length practice tests, while other materials are better suited to question drills.
The two main sources for free and official ETS GRE Verbal practice material are the PowerPrep web-based practice tests and practice book PDFs.
POWERPREP Online
ETS’s POWERPREP Online allows students to simulate the experience of taking a computer-based GRE on their own computers. There are two PowerPrep full-length section-adaptive practice tests, which makes it the most valuable computer-based GRE practice out there.
Because these are the only two free official computer-based GRE practice tests, you should use be mindful of how and when you take the PowerPrep tests.The Test Preview tool included with the PowerPrep tests can help you get used to the computer-based GRE without wasting one of the full-length practice tests. The best way to practice is to use these full-length tests to gauge your GRE studying progress and to use other GRE Verbal questions for practice in between.
For more about how to get the most out of the PowerPrep tests, be sure to read our article about GRE sample questions here.
GRE PDFs
ETS has released two practice tests as part of its GRE practice book PDFs: one from 2010-2012 and one that iscurrently available on the ETS website. The 2010-2012 practice test contains a lot of the same content as PowerPrep Practice Test 1, while the current practice test contains a lot of the same content as PowerPrep Practice Test 2. Both of the practice test PDFs are formatted for the paper-based GRE, so they have 25 Verbal Reasoning questions per section.
Because of the overlap and the timing differences, you should only mine these PDF practice tests for GRE verbal practice questions after you’ve taken the corresponding PowerPrep test.
Old GRE PDFs
One other source of free official GRE Verbal practice questions is the practice book for the old, out-of-800 GRE. The catch is that because the Verbal Reasoning section of the GRE has changed quite a bit from that test, you can only use the following questions from the practice book PDF:
- Section 2: 4-6, 17-27
- Section 4: 2, 5, 17-27
All the other Verbal Reasoning questions on that test are either types no longer seen on the GRE (antonyms, analogies) or have answers in forms too different from the current GRE to be useful practice (for instance, double-blank sentence completion question answer choices were presented in a completely different format on the old test).
ETS Website
The ETS website also has some sample questions with explanations that are separate from the two full-length tests. Most of these sample questions are duplicated by PowerPrep’s Test Preview tool, but there are some unique questions (with explanations). Be sure to go through the sample questions to make sure you get as many free official practice questions as you can out of ETS.
Paid and Official GRE Verbal Practice Questions
Official GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions, Volume 1 (currently, there is no volume 2) contains 150 unique practice questions. At under $12 for the paperback or ebook, this book is the best source for non-test GRE Verbal practice questions, since questions are grouped by skill level (easy, medium, or hard) and by skill type (reading comprehension, sentence equivalence, or text completion)
The Official Guide to the GRE revised General Test is the best paid resource for official full-length practice tests. For around $27, you’ll not only get practice questions that appear nowhere else, but you’ll also get two full-length unique paper-based GRE practice tests.
As with PowerPrep, the practice tests in this book are best used to gauge your progress, rather than as resources to chop up and mine for GRE Verbal practice questions. On the other hand, you can use the GRE Verbal practice question sets in Chapter 4 for targeted study the same way you’d use the questions in Official GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions.
The last official paid resource for GRE Verbal practice questions is POWERPREP PLUS Online. At $39.95 per test per use (you can only take a test once per purchase) and expiring after 90 days, the two PowerPrep Plus adaptive practice tests are a pricey addition to ETS’s array of official GRE practice materials. However, if you are struggling with the computer-based format of the GRE and want more full-length official practice tests than you get with the free version of PowerPrep, this is your best option. The PowerPrep Plus practice tests have very little overlap with other official material, so they make great additional checkpoints to see if you need to change where you’re focusing your studying.
Best Unofficial GRE Verbal Practice Materials
Unfortunately, there aren’t many good options out there for free unofficial GRE Verbal practice tests. The free material that’s out there tends to suffer from lopsided quality, with acceptable Quantitative Reasoning practice questions but poor quality Verbal Reasoning practice questions.
For GREvocab practice, I’d recommend checking out our printable GRE flashcards, which cover the 357 most important vocab words. You can also take a look atthese vocabulary.com lists or some of the GRE flashcards lists available on Quizlet. The specific links I’ve listed are good because they don’t just give definitions, but also use the words in sentences, which is what you’ll be asked to do on the real GRE.
The best free computer-based unofficial GRE practice test is the one found on Manhattan Prep’s website. This resource is a good alternative for students who want more computer-based full-length GRE practice but don’t want to use up one of the PowerPrep tests. The Verbal Reasoning questions on this test, if not perfect, are at least the best approximation of ETS-quality questions that we’ve come across.
Manhattan Prep also has the next-best (after ETS) book-based GRE practice materials. Just like the official GRE study guides, Manhattan Prep’s $16 5lb GRE book has questions organized by content area. The quality of these questions is not as good as official GRE questions, but the 5lb book is not a bad choice for supplemental study if you’re running out of real GRE Verbal practice questions. Purchasing any one of Manhattan Prep’s eight strategy guides will give you one-year access to Manhattan Prep’s online GRE tests for more computer-based practice to use to fill out your studying in between PowerPrep tests. The questions in the strategy guides tend to be less realistic than those in the 5lb book, but you may still get some use out of them as well.
If you run through all of this material, Barron’s GRE and Barron’s 6 GRE Practice Tests are an acceptable third option for supplemental GRE Verbal practice. Their questions aren’t quite as realistic as those found in Manhattan Prep’s materials, but they’re better than the majority of the other unofficial GRE Verbal practice questions out there.
5GRE Verbal Practice Tips
Below, we’ll tie it all together with five tips for getting the most out of your GRE Verbal practice.
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#1: Use Official GRE Practice Tests Wisely
Use the two PowerPrep tests to get a baseline reading for your level and as a way to measure your progress; use the practice tests in The Official Guide to the GRE revised General Test as additional full-length tests that will give you a realistic idea of how you’re doing.
Because the PowerPrep tests are the only two free official computer-based GRE practice tests out there, use these tests judiciously, supplementing with the two PowerPrep Plus tests if you can afford it. Plan on using official paper-based GRE study material and non-official computer- and paper-based tests to fill in the gaps.
#2: Practice Specific GRE Verbal Question Types
The best materials for focusing in on specific GRE Verbal Reasoning weaknesses are the practice questions in The Official Guide to the GRE revised General Test, the Official GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions, and the sample question sets on the ETS website
Drill yourself on specific question types (reading comprehension, sentence equivalence, text completion), starting at your current skill level and then moving on to more difficult questions as you improve. If you’re able to answer medium-level questions without a problem, then you shouldn’t waste your time answering easy question – instead, try advanced-level questions to increase your skill. By contrast, if you’re struggling with easy questions, then you need to work on being able to get those correct consistently before moving on to medium- or advanced-level GRE Verbal questions.
Specific GRE Verbal practice is best done in conjunction with practice tests – if you do too many practice questions in isolation, you won’t be prepared for the real GRE, which varies question types within the Verbal Reasoning section (you won’t encounter this in practice) as well as changing from Verbal Reasoning to Quantitative Reasoning, section to section.
#3: Review Your Mistakes
Going over questions you answer incorrectly is key both when taking practice tests and when doing sets of practice questions. Only by understanding why you got the questions wrong can you avoid making the same mistake in the future.
It’s important to understand not just at a high level why you got questions wrong (careless mistake), but to dig deeper: were you careless because rushing due to reading slowly? Because you got bored by a passage and read the same sentence over and over again? Did you misread a word and then choose the wrong text completion answer as a result?
Each of these reasons for making a careless error has a different solution that you can then deploy during your GRE Verbal practice. This method of reviewing your mistakes applies equally well to non-careless mistakes as well, whether they’re caused by content weaknesses or unfamiliarity with the test.
#4: Understand the Difference Between Paper- and Computer-based GRE Verbal Practice
If you’re taking the computer-based GRE, the only realistic practice exams out there are the PowerPrep and PowerPrep Plus tests. Other than that, you’ll be relying on paper/ebook practice materials for your GRE Verbal practice.
As you drill yourself on these questions, you need to remember that the real GRE will be computerized, not on paper, and that the timing and number of questions per section on the Verbal Reasoning section changes between paper-based and computer-based tests. The computer-based GRE has 20 questions per 30-minute Verbal Reasoning section, while paper-based GRE has 25 questions per 35-minute Verbal Reasoning section (giving you actually a little less time per question, compared to the computer-based GRE).
When you do take paper practice tests (like the ones in The Official Guide to the GRE revised General Test), however, you should follow the directions exactly, since ETS has judged the timing and number of questions on the paper-based tests to make taking those tests equivalent to the computer-based testing experience.
#5: Create a Study Plan
Formulating a study plan is important not just for GRE studying as a whole, but for GRE Verbal practice in particular as well. When you create your overall GRE study plan, be sure to get detailed with what exactly you’ll be doing when you do Verbal Reasoning practice. We recommend alternating full-length GRE practice tests taken under realistic conditions with sets of GRE Verbal practice questions over the course of your study, but which topics within Verbal Reasoning you focus on and the proportion of practice tests to practice question sets depends on your own GRE goals.
The more you concretely you plan out how much studying you’ll do over what period of time to achieve your target score, the better chance you’ll have of achieving that goal. You can find out more about GRE target scores in this article.
What’s Next?
Struggling with text completion and sentence equivalence questions? Strengthen those Verbal Reasoning muscles with our set of GRE vocabulary words.
All set with Verbal Reasoning but in need of GRE Math study materials? Read the companion article to this one on GRE Quantitative Reasoning practice questions and other resources.
Immerse yourself in a sea of GRE study resources with our comprehensive guides to GRE sample questions and all official and free GRE practice tests.
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Author: Laura Staffaroni
Laura graduated magna cum laude from Wellesley College with a BA in Music and Psychology, and earned a Master's degree in Composition from the Longy School of Music of Bard College. She scored 99 percentile scores on the SAT and GRE and loves advising students on how to excel and fulfill their college and grad school dreams. View all posts by Laura Staffaroni
FAQs
The Best GRE Verbal Practice You Can Get • PrepScholar GRE? ›
The fact that around 20 percent of test-takers score 160 or higher is consistent with the idea that the level of difficulty of scoring 160 on GRE Verbal is medium-hard. KEY FACT: About 20 percent of GRE test-takers score 160 or higher.
How do I get better at the verbal section of the GRE? ›- Get a list of common GRE vocab words from Kaplan. This is a great guide to direct your studies.
- Make a comprehensive list of words you don't recognize. ...
- Use flashcards. ...
- Set steady, consistent memorization goals. ...
- Incorporate the words into your thoughts, or even into conversations.
The fact that around 20 percent of test-takers score 160 or higher is consistent with the idea that the level of difficulty of scoring 160 on GRE Verbal is medium-hard. KEY FACT: About 20 percent of GRE test-takers score 160 or higher.
Is a 159 verbal GRE score good? ›Between 2018 and 2021: Those who scored a 162 or higher on the verbal reasoning section of the GRE were in the top 10% of test-takers. Test-takers who scored 160 were in the 85th percentile, or top 15%. Those who scored 152 were in the 50th percentile.
How hard is a 150 on the GRE? ›For example, a scaled Verbal score of 150 on the GRE translates to roughly the 47 th percentile, meaning that you scored better than 47 percent of other test takers—and worse than the other 53 percent of test takers. Here are the most recent GRE percentile ranks, released by ETS.
Is 145 in verbal a good GRE score? ›A low GRE score is considered to fall around the 25th percentile or lower. In terms of GRE verbal percentiles, this would equate to a GRE scaled score of 145; and, for the quantitative percentiles, this would equal a 147 scaled score.
Is 148 a good verbal GRE score? ›What is a good GRE score? For most programs, it's 75th percentile or above: 157+ in Verbal Reasoning and 162+ in Quantitative Reasoning. For top programs, it's a 90th percentile score or higher: 162+ in Verbal and 168+ in Quant.
Is 130 the lowest GRE score? ›The Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning consists of 40 questions each. So, the highest raw score would be 40, provided you get every single question right. These raw scores are then converted, or scaled, to the score range of 130 to 170, the former being the lowest and the latter being the section-wise GRE highest score.
Is a 140 bad on the GRE? ›In terms of how your score compares to all test-takers, a 25th percentile score (about a 144 on Verbal and a 146 on Quant) is a low score as it means 75% of test-takers—so, the vast majority—scored better than you.
Is 295 a bad GRE score? ›No, 295 is not considered a good GRE score for PA school. A GRE score above 300 (verbal reasoning scores of 155 – 170, quantitative reasoning scores of 153 – 170, and analytical writing scores of 3.5) is considered good for Physician Assistant schools.
How many questions can you miss on the GRE to get a 150? ›
| Raw Score/Number of Correct Answers | Verbal Reasoning Scaled Score | Quantitative Reasoning Scaled Score |
|---|---|---|
| 31 | 155 | 152 |
| 30 | 154 | 152 |
| 29 | 154 | 151 |
| 28 | 153 | 150 |
Generally, a 75th percentile is a pretty good GRE score, and a 90th percentile is an excellent one. Thus, we can say that a score of 318 and above is good, whereas a score of 329 is an excellent one. A score of 300+ is considered average, and a 292 score is considered below average.
Is 296 a good GRE score? ›A GRE score average of 290 to 300 can take you to a quality university in the USA, which would surely help you take off your career ladder.
Is 315 a low GRE score? ›For most top-50 schools, a good GRE score is in the mid-to-high 150s on both sections. Based on this data, an overall GRE score of 310 to 315 is a good GRE score for MBA applicants, while a score of 325 is excellent.
How much GRE score is required for Harvard? ›| School | Verbal Reasoning Average Score | Analytical Writing Average Score |
|---|---|---|
| Harvard Business School | 162 | 5.0 |
| Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences | 163 | 4.5 |
| Harvard Graduate School of Design | 158 | 4.0 |
| Harvard Graduate School of Education | 158 | 4.0 |
As you can see, the GRE score percentiles for Verbal and Quant are not the same. For Verbal, both 169 and 170 are 99th percentile scores—so, scores in the top 1%. On Quant, a perfect score of 170 is only the 97th GRE percentile!
How to improve GRE verbal score from 150 to 160? ›- Use the right resources.
- Take the GRE verbal section diagnostic test.
- Familiarize with the questions.
- Do not use a timer for the first few weeks.
- Prepare your own dictionary.
- Practice! Practice! ...
- Don't dedicate equal amount of time to all the sections!
- Start taking mock tests.
The GRE is considered harder than SAT because of the GRE vs SAT difficulty level. This is because of some challenging reading passages and vocabulary. The vocabulary of the test has ambiguous words that are not used in everyday language.
Is 283 a good GRE score? ›As per various surveys, it is seen that a GRE score of 300 and above accounts for the best universities. Whereas an average GRE score between 280 to 300 does not put you in top programs but will help you get into some of the best universities in the USA provided that you have a good academic score and a strong profile.
What if my GRE score is 311? ›Is a GRE Score Between 310 and 320 Good Enough? Any GRE score above 310+ is considered to be an exceptional score, however, what the colleges or universities consider while looking at your scorecard are the verbal and quant section scores and percentile. The sectional scores and percentile vary.
How many people get 170 on GRE? ›
Is the Score of 170 on the GRE Quantitative Possible? Yes, 170 on the GRE quants corresponds to the 97th percentile. According to a Report, 3 in 100 students who take the GRE, score this mark. The average GRE Quant score is around 152.
How hard is it to get a 330 on GRE? ›However, it is also important to remember that a 330+ score is in the 98th percentile of all GRE scores. This means that only 2% of the test takers can achieve this score and over 98% of people are below this score. It can be as difficult to increase your score from 320 to 330 as it is to score 320 in the first place.
Is a 290 bad on the GRE? ›Is GRE Score Between 290-300 Good Enough? A GRE score between 290 and 300 is neither poor nor particularly well-regarded. You must achieve a score of at least 300 to be admitted to a highly renowned Ivy League institution. But there's no reason to give up.
Is it easy to get a 170 in GRE? ›Scoring a perfect 170 in GRE quantitative is not easy, but it is definitely achievable with the right preparation and strategies.
Is 300 a low GRE score? ›The GRE's point scale runs from 260 to 340. High GRE test scores are essential for admission into the best universities abroad, although they might not be the only criteria. Having a GRE score of 300 can get you into a decent school. A GRE score of 310 or above is generally is highly regarded by universities.
Can I improve my GRE score by 30 points? ›Yes, it is possible to raise your GRE by more than 30 points. Raising it to more than 30 points improves your chance of admission. However, it happens rarely and could take up a significant amount of your time. It could take you a lot of careful planning and studying and might even require you to hire a tutor.
Can you still get into grad school with a low GRE score? ›These days, the GRE still has its place in higher education. But as graduate schools begin to approach admissions more holistically, having a low GRE score, or no GRE score at all, doesn't mean you can't gain entry into a prestigious grad program.
Is a 4 on GRE writing good? ›An excellent score is 5.5-6.0, and an average score is 3.5-4.0.
Can a high GRE offset a low GPA? ›High GRE Scores
If you diligently plan, study, and then kick butt at the GRE, a high score could help offset a low GPA. This aptitude test helps measure your readiness for graduate school. A high score may even do more than your GPA to communicate your capability as a graduate student.
Contrary to what you might think, the lowest possible GRE score is not 0. The two multiple-choice GRE sections, Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning, are each scored on a scale from 130-170 in one-point increments. The lowest possible score on each of those sections is 130.
Is it easy to get 320 in GRE? ›
The way you fashion your GRE preparation decides your performance in each section and ace the test. Even though scoring 320 in GRE is definitely not a finger-snapping activity, it is achievable with smart GRE prep courses.
Do colleges see how many times you take the GRE? ›While schools can see if you've taken the assessment more than once, it doesn't negatively impact your application. After taking the test, you have the option to report just your most recent scores or your score history for the past five years.
Can I clear GRE in one month? ›If you are focused and confident about your prep, a GRE One Month Plan will work out great for you, as long as you are willing to put in the time. You will have to dedicate at least 3 hours a day on an average; that too, only if your basic math concepts are clear.
How is 260 the lowest score in GRE? ›Understanding the GRE minimum score for admission requires the candidate to know what the lowest possible score that can be scored in GRE. GRE verbal and GRE quant are both marked on a GRE score range of 130 – 170. Therefore, the lowest score is not 0 but 130 in each of them, with the total GRE score being 260.
How many hours a day should you study for the GRE? ›The amount of time that you would need to spend studying for the GRE varies from a mere 5-6 hours per week to 2-3 hours a day. Again, this obviously depends on your proficiency level across the 3 sections tested on the GRE.
How long should I study for the GRE? ›By and large, the exam is a test of patterns, not facts, so if you want to raise your GRE score, you will need sufficient time to practice. We suggest you devote between 4 and 12 weeks to GRE preparation.
Is 80% good on the GRE? ›What Is a Good GRE Score Overall? While there's no blanket cutoff that directly constitutes a good GRE score, in general any score above the 50th percentile, or median, can be considered a good score, since this would mean you did better than at least half of all test-takers.
How hard is 320 GRE score? ›The 320 GRE percentile is around 80 percent or above! But again, the GRE is a sectional game. If you want admission in a specific course, say engineering, you need to up your game and receive the highest possible score in the quant section.
What GRE score is required for Phd in USA? ›An overall GRE score of 320 or above and a 4.5 in GRE AWA are required for admission to the top GRE universities in USA to study MS or Ph.
How to increase GRE score from 290 to 320? ›- • Sign up for a quality prep course, and use the material completely: ...
- Create an effective study plan and spend 1-2 hours every day studying for the GRE. ...
- Spend 80% of the time on your weakest areas. ...
- Solve only those questions that challenge you.
What is the lowest GRE score it will accept? ›
What is GRE minimum score? Your GRE exam is divided into three sections. The GRE minimum score for your Verbal Section is 130, your GRE minimum score for your Quantitative Section is 130 and the GRE minimum score for your Analytical writing is 0. Hence, the GRE minimum score is 260 excluding the GRE Analytical section.
How hard is it to get a 340 on the GRE? ›A perfect 340 score on GRE is possible with the right study preparation. There are multiple ways for students to prepare for this exam. Based on how you align your studying patterns, the chances of achieving a 340 GRE score remains high.
Does GRE outweigh GPA? ›This make the GRE the single most important number on your application. It's even more important than your undergraduate GPA. In fact, some schools weigh your GRE several times more than your undergraduate GPA. This means that a test of only a few hours can outweigh four years of college.
Does GPA or GRE matter more? ›One of the most important parts of your graduate school application is your GPA. Combined with your GRE score, those two numbers hold the greatest weight when it comes to how likely you are to get into a particular school. Unlike your GRE score, though, your GPA has another facet to it: Your transcript.
Is GRE as important as GPA? ›GPA shows the academic accomplishment that you achieved during your study. It's more thoughtful and used in most admissions, while GRE is considered a test that can be taken numerous times. Both GRE and GPA have a deep impact on your application process to abroad universities.
What is a competitive GRE score? ›Typically, a GRE score of 328 or above is considered a competitive score for most graduate school programs.
Is the verbal section of the GRE hard? ›How difficult is GRE Verbal Reasoning? The GRE verbal section is considered as the tough part in the entire GRE exam by many test-takers. As stated earlier, the verbal section tests your ability to analyze and evaluate the written material that is provided in the form of sentences, paragraphs, and passages.
How can I improve my GRE verbal score in 2 weeks? ›- The GRE Verbal Reasoning Section. ...
- Step 1: Familiarize Yourself With the GRE Verbal Questions. ...
- Step 2: Take a Practice GRE.
- Step 3: Analyze Your Practice Test Results.
- Step 4: Do a Mix of Learning and Practicing. ...
- Step 5: Improve Your Execution. ...
- Step 6: Work on Vocabulary as You Go.
The Math Portion: The math portion of the GRE does require a solid knowledge of math concepts. For many, this makes the GRE difficult because the quantitative reasoning portion covers concepts such as basic statistics, graphs, data tables, geometry and algebra.
How do you ace the vocabulary section of the GRE? ›- Say words out loud. ...
- Keep a GRE vocabulary list. ...
- Use GRE flashcards when you're on the go. ...
- Prioritize learning words that GRE tends to test. ...
- Visualizations help. ...
- Understand word roots. ...
- Use your new words every chance you get. ...
- Don't forget GRE math vocabulary!
How hard is a 170 GRE? ›
Yes, 170 on the GRE quants corresponds to the 97th percentile. According to a Report, 3 in 100 students who take the GRE, score this mark. The average GRE Quant score is around 152.
Is 165 a good verbal GRE score? ›A score of 165 is in the 95th percentile, meaning that if you score 165 in the Verbal or Quantitative Section, you will be in the top 5% of all test takers. If so, the GRE score will be a strong positive factor for your application.
What percentile is 151 verbal GRE? ›For Verbal, 151 is the 49th percentile, while 152 is the 53rd. So either of those scores will put you close to the 50th. However, only a score of 1521 or higher will put you above this benchmark for the Verbal section.
How much can you realistically raise your GRE score? ›As a GRE instructor, I get this question a lot. I'll start by just sharing what I see, and note that this is just my experience: most students go up 5-8 points with study. That said, there are also students who go up 15 points, so I don't mean the 5-8 to be read as a cap or threshold.
Can I study for GRE in 10 days? ›' So, practice is the key to a 155+ GRE verbal score; however, you can make it with the GRE verbal 10 days study plan. Actually, the number of days in practice does not matter because more days of practice will always be better. You can alternative;y focus on the quality of practice and ace GRE verbal in just 10 days.
Is 2 months sufficient for GRE preparation? ›Yes, it is possible, but not easy. Though it is not impossible, you must remember that two months is not a lot of time to prepare for the GRE, so it is important to maximize your time. Know about the different sections of the test and prepare with mock tests.
Why is the lowest GRE score 130? ›Very few people receive the lowest possible GRE score. When we look at the GRE percentile chart, we can see that 131-132 are both 1st percentile scores for Verbal. This means that so few people receive a score of 130 on verbal that it is numerically negligible.
Is it hard to get a 300+ score in GRE? ›It is something that you can easily attain if you are determined to work hard. Some test takers feel it as an easy task to get the hang of all the math and verbal concepts, but for the vast majority of the test-taking multitude.
Should I memorize words for GRE? ›Remember, GRE Verbal measures your comprehension, critical thinking, and reasoning skills. You could be a human dictionary and still manage to do poorly on your test because knowing the meaning of a word alone doesn't tell you much about the context in which it can be used.
How many words should I memorize for GRE? ›The best way to practice vocabulary is to study a lot of GRE words but to keep it manageable. Try to learn around 1,000 new words to give yourself a reasonable goal for the test.
How many questions do you have to get right on the GRE to get a 160? ›
What is this? Therefore, if you want to get a 160+ on quant you can get 9-10 questions wrong in total but no more than 5 incorrect in the first section. For instance, in the sample reports shared below, the test taker got a 160 on quant with 16/20 on the first section and 15/20 on the second section.